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Homeland Security to Airlines: Get Rid of Baggage Fees to Shorten Lines

by Tom Costello / May.19.2016 / 1:11 AM ET

Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Waiting times at the checkpoints today have been reported to be as long 2 hours.Scott Olson / Getty Images

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The head of Homeland Security has a bit of advice for airlines who want to shorten long waits at airport security: waive fees for checked baggage.

“We've asked the airlines to consider possibly eliminating the checked baggage fee to encourage people to check their luggage rather than putting it in the carry on,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Tuesday evening.

It’s a call echoed by U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal who also pitched the idea in a letter last week to a dozen major U.S. airlines.

The airlines’ response? No way.

Instead, the airlines suggest the TSA work to better staff at heavily trafficked airports and encourage more fliers to sign up for PreCheck, a TSA program aimed at expedited screening. American Airlines is now even using its own contractors in TSA lines to help speed things along.

“This is not a bag fee issue. This model of charging customers for services they value and use is not a new phenomenon. It dates back to 2008. Encouraging passengers to check more bags will not help and would actually exacerbate current checked baggage screening issues that are resulting in passengers missing their connections and having their bags delayed,” said Jean Medina, a spokesperson for Airlines for America, an airline industry group.

For air travelers stuck in the middle of this debate, this is going to be the summer of discontent.

The Transportation Security Administration chief has apologized for long lines at airports nationwide with a special apology to hundreds who missed flights from Chicago over the weekend.

Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Waiting times at the checkpoints today have been reported to be as long 2 hours.Scott Olson / Getty Images

“I always tell people I won't apologize for doing our job well,” TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger said Tuesday. “But I do apologize to the people who found themselves stranded in Chicago...”

However, for passengers waiting for hours — and missing flights — things could get even worse during the busy summer travel season.

The airline industry estimates 231 million people will travel this summer, some 2.5 million a day.

The frustration and anger hit a crescendo this week for thousands of passengers.